just bought the game (Linux version)
started the prologue and have many questions (i will edit this post to continue with the many questions i have)
in no particular order:
trouble healing Morwen after battles:
the other seem to gain health per day, i had plenty of med kits
the two button: toggle med. kit (cannot remember label) and the other disable med. kits (cannot remember label)
seem not to figure out what was going on.
i toggled the med. kit button and the small progression bar moved back and forth, no ideal what was going on
i toggled the disable med. kits button, just got a message "disabled", but not sure if any healing was going to take place.
Morwen health did not seem to change
in fact, not until i meet the second shaman that i got healing for Morwen, i think an option came up when i spoke to the shaman, as far as i know, no healing was offered before

could not mount the compass after buying;
Morwen is the scout master, but the option to mount the compass did not show up, i think, until leaving city on Sedarias's quest; same for the reinforced wheel.
when leveling up Morwen, there was no progression for scout master

the leveling up system was confusing:
got points on that leveling screen with all sorts of progressions, seems sometimes the points could be applied to Morwen or Javek. as for the main player, i think i lost in small part to obedience, could not level this skill

i will review some of the saved game points to confirm some of the above points, will edit accordingly

You can't actively "heal" your companions. (I think it was possible in more early version but that's gone.)
There is a base chance that their health will change over night - it can become better or even worse. Health kits shift the chance to better results, and spending points into "healer" do so, too.
The shamans in the prologue and the infirmary healers in the free game can recover your companions at once.

I'll check the other things later when I have more time.

the game has a large codex
entries should be added for game progression options
i am sure i had points in healer, seem to made no difference

another thing:
i took the bounty for that un-dead creature
found it; fought it
during the battle, Morwen dropped to 1 point of health, and cleared from the battle
but i think, the next round, the others health bar dropped to 2 points each (i assume the gold indicators were SP)
did not check the log, but not sure why that happened
and Javek could no long cast any spells
never checked, but does Javek's buffing spell stack? if not, there must be some way to tell if further buffing is necessary

The game progression is only of such importance in the prologue. In the free game, the options are available in principle from the beginning (if you can pay for them). The difference is not that huge - you can't expect that your companions are back at full health the next morning. It's more an issue of some percent of probability to gain or to loose one health point or two, rarely more. I'm not sure whether I understand...
Morwen should had been at least for some time in the 'downed' state, in which she can't attack but still has some health points. During this phase, in free play you can bring up a companion with the "Aid" perk. But I'm not sure whether this is available in the prologue. Jarvek needs the gold indicators for spell casting. Some of them recover if he forfeits a round. That's a question the developers may answer with more certainty then me but I would say: no, they don't.

Edit:
I just checked and found that indeed only the Vitrar shamans offer healing.
The healing probabilties are somewhat opaque to estimate, but health kits seem to add around 30% to 40% while adding three points to the Healer perk of the main character can lead to a 30% to 50% increase. With maximal investment in healing options (vagrus 3 points in healer, Jarvek 1 point, health kit enabled) it's possible to avoid health loss during night. Obedience is not a perk that could be enhanced. It's a stat that changes from time to time. Obedience is lost most frequently due to events, using March movement points, having an insufficiently guarded or crowded camp. And it is recovered by having a well-guarded camp or by punishing slaved or setting some of them free. Morwen has the ability to be a scout master from the beginning. You can see this in her character sheet in the "Deputy" section. Jarvek is Chief Handler, and Sedarias is inept for any deputy so there's an empty field in his sheet. During free play, you may have to spend Insight to buy those abilities for your companions.
However, you also have to install a companion to a Deputy to gain the boni from his abilities. This is limited by your Authority value. So even if Sedarias would make a suitable slave-driver, you would have to recall Jarvek or Morwen from their position before installing him as one.

thanks for your response
the game in question was the full game prologue and i lost (first game and maybe my last), every thing, no food, no money, slaves ran off (lack of obedience on my part) etc..
is it possible to bypass the black knight from the start?
i think not
i will try one more time and:
not buy the compass - not having slaves slowed reduced the movement much more than the compass added
same for the wheel
see all the scrap, and the weapons (after smelting)
no new passengers
max. 3 days in main city
spend most money of supplies; no hunting or foraging
i think i will reload just when entering the main city
i do like this game, its a better version of banner saga; banner saga was too linear, i hated the fighting
regards

Unfortunately, Sedarias is obligate.

But loosing everything is not a rare case in this game.

Now, I see two options:
First, you try the free play. You know the base mechanisms by now. And you will have much more options and degrees of freedom in the free play.

Second, you allow me to spoiler...

[spoiler]
In Avernum, take care that you have 4 free cargo slots. Melt scrap metal until you have one slot filled. (The fourth slot is buffer.)
And yes, buy the compass. It's one of the best equipment pieces you can lay hands on.
Then, do the quests.
Before leaving Avernum, ensure that you have three (?) empty cargo slots - you'll get additional cargo. If necessary, buy mounts.
Then, go to the south, enter Utrvorar. Sell a bit of metal, buy food. Hire fighters if you need them for guarding your camp.
Go on southwards, enter Vitrar. Sell all melted metal, buy food. If you bought mounts, buy a beast of burden and sell the mounts. Hire fighters if you don't have enough for guarding the camp in the most efficient way.

Then, always keep an eye on your travelling time to either Vitrar or Avernum. Add one day as buffer. And try to have never less food then you need for a safe return to there. Hunting and foraging in the evenings is inefficient in my opinion. You may do so if you have two movement points left. But don't count on loot.
You will find that you need to return to Vitrar and/or Avernum often. That's right.
If you run out of coins, melt metal and sell it in Vitrar. [/spoiler]